By projecting its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as the only solution to all the problems in the country, the BJP and the RSS are promoting a dangerous move away from the democratic system towards an authoritarian system, Union minister for commerce and industry Anand Sharma said here on Thursday.

Behind the personality cult created around Modi is the lurking danger of authoritarianism in the country, the commerce minister said.

“Narendra Modi is not known to be democratic in his thought and actions. He is known to be intolerant and arrogant. He lacks national vision,” Sharma said at a media interaction here Thursday.

“Narendra Modi’s personality is such that he has no patience or humility. He is egoistic and thinks there is no else like him. He has already demonstrated this in his party by sidelining Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi while Jaswant Singh has quit the BJP,” he said.

He accused the BJP of showcasing Modi as the solo “repository of the collective wisdom of billions of people”, and promoting “a dangerous practice of personality cult”. By putting Modi ahead of everything else, the BJP and the RSS are setting out to undermine parliamentary democracy, he said.

“The BJP is the political front of RSS. Narendra Modi is nominated by the RSS. The RSS has rubber-stamped the nomination,” Sharma alleged.

Attacking the BJP for projecting the Gujarat model as the solution to the country’s woes, Sharma said “things are being projected in such a way as though Narendra Modi has brought revolutionary change in Gujarat which will be replicated all over the country.”

Reacting to Modi acknowledging his marriage in his election affidavit, Sharma said Modi may have decided to put it on official record because he was attempting to become the prime minister.